Hand holds



March 14, 1961 R, L, TANGEMAN 2,974,611

. HAND HOLDS Filed March 13, 1958 INVENTOR,

RUSSELL L: TANGEMAN Y I s: B 43 36 46 ATTORNEYS HAND HoLDs Russell L. Tangeman, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Mink- Dayton, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 721,161 4 Claims. (Cl. 10S-354) v AThis invention relates to handholds, and more particular to hand'holds providing support for persons standing in public conveyances such as buses, trolley cars, subway cars and the like.

The invention has special relation to hand holds of the type which are urged toward a stored position away from the passenger aisle to reduce the danger of persons accidentally bumping'into them and are individually pulled out or down by the user. It is common with existing hand holds to employ an elongated support tube, which is attached to the roof of the car, and on which a plurality of hand holds are mounted by sliding them over the end of the tube before the latter is secured in positon. If one ot 4 the hand holds is broken or must be replaced due to wear, it may then be necessary to remove a number of perfectly good, operating hand holds to remove and replacethe defective one.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a hand hold of improved and novel construction which can be attached directly to a longitudinally extending support tube at the desired point of use.

Another. object of the invention is to provide a hand support as outlined above, which is biased to a stored position away from the passengers and is held in the stored position by a latch. Y An additional object of the invention is to provide a hand hold as outlined above having a gripping handle attachable to the elongated support tube by split bearings and also having a separate housing for the spring unit which biases the handle toward a stored position.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawingsl l Fig. 1 is a side view partly in side elevation and partly in section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3 showing a hand hold constructed in accordance with the invention and in mounted position;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, looking from left to right in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing the biasing springs and latch element in dotted operating position;

Fig. 4 is an end view taken as indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig.` 5 is a bottom elevation of the housing member which receives the biasing springs and the latch; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral 10 indicates the usual type of longitudinally extending support tube which may have a disk-like mounting ange 11 attached to each end thereof. Flange 11 includes suitable openings 12 for receiving screws to fasten the tube to the wall or roof of the car where it may receive the desired number of hand holds.

The present invention provides hand 4holds which ca be lattachcdto tube -10 lat-any position along its length 2,974,611 Y Patented Mar. 14, 1961 2 without disassembling the tube from the car. This is accomplished by providing a hand hold 15 including bearing means having opposed upper and lower parts 16 and 17 which can be interconnected for attachment to tube 10 at the precise point of desired use. Each of the parts 16 and 17 includes generally diametrically opposed flanges 18 having suitable openings to receive screws 19 for drawing the flanges together to secure the parts on the tube, and the opposing parts 16 and 17 are proportioned in bearing relation with the tube 10 for the desiredrocking movement thereon.

The lower bearing part 17 includes an outwardly extending hollow sleeve 20 having a longitudinally extending recess 21 which receives the flattened ends 22 of a gripping handle 25. This handle, which forms a grip to which a person can hold, has its flattened end portions 22 tightly secured within sleeve 20 by rivets 26 which extend completely through the sleeve to insure that the handle 25 isV properly secured in mounted position.

Referring to Fig. 1, the dotted handle 25 indicates the position of the handle during normal operation, and the full-line handle 25 shows the stored position assumed during periods Vof non-use. Since location of handle 25 in the operative position could represent a potential hazard if not actually in use, the invention includes means for urging the handle 25 toward the stored position when it is released by the person using it, while at the same time providing for ready mounting of hand hold 15 at the desired location on tube 1l).

A housing member 30, of greater length than the upper bearing part 16, has end portions 31 overhanging part 16 for attachment directly to tube Ill. As indicated in Figs. 4 and 6, the end portions 31 are grooved, as at 32, to conform to the peripheral shape of tube 10 and are provided with holes 33 through which mounting screws 34 extend for threaded attachment in suitably located tapped holes in the tube 10 and are provided with lock washers 35. The housing 30 has a recessed middle portion 36 conforming to the outer surface of upper bearing part 16 and also has two spaced recesses 37, which receive the biasing springs 40 as shown in Fig. 3 for controlling movement of the handle 2S. The upper bearing part 16 is constructed for close fitting engagement by the housing member 30 so that all of the recesses in its under surface are effectively sealed from the outside to prevent, as much as practicable, the entry of dust and dirt into the interior of the housing.

Each of the springs 40 has one end fitted within a small notch 41 formd in the side wall of its respective recess 37, in housing 30, and its other end is itted within a lateral bore 42 extending inwardly from the end wall of upper bearing part 16 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The springs 40, which are shown as conventional coil springs, are suitably dimensioned to cause them to act as torsion springs with respect to part 16 and to rotate the handle to its stored position when not in use. Thus when the handle 25 is pulled down from its full line position in Fig. 2 to its dotted line position, the springs 40 are caused to unwind, and when the handle is released, they restore it to its desired stored position. Shoulders 43 and 44 along opposite bottom edges of the member 30 act as stops for engagement by the flanges 18 on the bearing part 16 to establish the limit positions for this movement of the handle.

The housing 30 also carries Ia resilient latch 45 mounted in a small central recess 46 between the recesses 37. The latch 45 is fastened to housing 30 by a screw 47 and has a curved end portion shaped to t into a small keeper recess 48 in the outer surface of part 16 to form a detent holding the handle in its stored position. During the periods when the handle is being used, the curved end of the latch 45 `will be urged upwardly into the recess 46 and bear against the outer surface of the bearing part 16. When the handle is released, the coil springs 40 return the handle to the lstored position, and the resilient latch 45 will automatically spring into latching position within the keeper recess 48. Thus the latch 45 reduces the effects of car vibrations, which might otherwise continuously bounce or joggle the handle up and down against the coil springs 40, and thereby reduces wea-r on the handles and also reduces the noise within the car during operation.

In mounting one of the hand holds of the invention in place, the bearing parts 16 and 17, including the handle 225, may rst be mounted loosely on the tube by means of the screws 19. The springs 40 are then located in position by inserting the long end of each thereof in its bore 42 in the bearing part 16, after which the housing 3i) is tted over the bearing part 16, and during this step, the free short ends of the springs40 are received and retained in their respective notches 41 as described. Assembly of the unit is completed by attachment of the screws '34 into their receiving holes in the tube 10, which holes may have already been formed or may be located, drilled and tapped after the desired position for the unit on the tube has been established.

It will thus be seen that the hand holds of the invention are easily mounted for the tube 10 is already in position in the car or bus, and also that maintenance is greatly facilitated by the construction of the invention. Thus any part of the assembly can be replaced without removing the tube or any of the other hand holds, and if the handle itself should be damaged, it can be replaced without removal of any of the other parts of the assembly from the tube, simply by release of the screws 19. These features along with the individually simple construction of the several component parts of the unit all contribute to the advantages provided by the invention.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hand hold for `attachment to a longitudinally extending cylindrical support tube to provide a grip for persons standing in conveyances such as subway cars and the like, comprising two-part bearing means shaped for interconnection to enclose a portion of the support tube and having cylindrically curved inner surface portions adapted to 4form a pivotal mounting on the support tube, a handle secured to one of said bearings parts and extending therefrom for gripping by the user, a housing adapted for attachment to the support tube in overlying relation with the other of said bearing parts and including end portions radially overlapping said part to limit movement of said bearing means axially of the support tube, said housing also including portions immediate the ends thereof which form stops for engagement by cooperating portions of said bearing means to define respectively a stored limit position and an operative limit position for said handle, and a spring mounted within said housing and attached at one end to said bearing means and at the other end to said housing to urge said handle toward said stored position.

2. A. hand hold for attachment to a longitudinally extending cylindrical support tube to provide a grip for persons standing in conveyances such as subway cars and the like, comprising two-part bearing means shaped for interconnection to enclose a portion of the support tube and having cylindrically curved inner surface portions adapted to form a pivotal mounting on the support tube, a handle secured to one of said bearing parts and extending therefrom for gripping by the user, a housing adapted for attachment to the support tube in overlving relation CII with the other of said bearing parts and including end portions radially overlapping said part to 'limit movement of said bearing means axially of the support tube, said housing also including portions immediate the ends thereof which form stops for engagement by cooperating portions of said bearing means to define respectively a stored limit position and an operative limit position for said handle, a spring mounted within said housing and attached at one end to said bearing means and at the other end to said housing to urge said handle toward said stored position, detent means on centrally located portions of said housing and said other bearing part for holding said handle in said stored position, and said other bearing part and said housing having complementary cylindrically curved portions enclosing said detent means and proportioned for close fitting moving engagement providing a sealing action therebetween. l

3. A hand hold for attachment to a longitudinally extending cylindrical .support tube to provide a grip for persons standing in conveyances such as subway cars and the like, comprising two-part bearing means shaped for interconnection to enclose a portion of the support tube and having cylindrically curved inner surface portions adapted to form a pivotal mounting on the support tube, a handle secured to one of said bearing parts and extending therefrom for gripping by the user, a housing constructed to overlie the other of said bearing parts and including end portions radially overlapping said part and having cylindrically curved surface areas for attached engagement with the support tube limiting movement of said bearing means axial-1y of the support tube, said housing also including portions immediate the end thereof which form stops for engagement by cooperating portions of said bearing means to define respectively a stored limit position and an operative limit position for said handle, and a spring mounted within said housing and attached at one end to said bearing means and at the other end to said housing to urge said handle toward said stored position.

4. A hand hold for attachment to a longitudinally extending cylindrical support tube to provide a grip for persons standing in conveyances such as subway cars and the like, comprising two-part bearing means shaped for interconnection to enclose a portion of the support tube and having cylindrically curved inner surface portions adapted to form a pivotal mounting on the support tube, a handle secured to one of said bearing parts and extending therefrom for gripping by the user, a housing adapted for attachment to' the support tube in overlying relation with the other of said bearing parts and including end portions radially overlapping said part to limit movement of said bearing means axially of the support tube, lsaid. housing also including portions immediate the ends thereof which form stops for engagement by cooperating portions of said bearing means to define respectively afstored limit position and an operative limit position for said handle, a spring mounted within said housing in overlying relation with said other hearing part, said spring being attached at one end to said bearing means and at the other end to said housing to urge said handle toward said stored position, and said housing and said other bearing part having complementary cylindrically curved portions enclosing said spring and proportioned for close fitting moving engagement providing a sealing action therebetween.

References Cited in the 4tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 989,237 Doyle Apr. l1, 1911 1,097,860 Henry May 26, 1914 1,729,988 Clark Oct. 1, 1929 2,137,622 Munro et al. NOV. 22, 1938 2,500,415 Johnson 'Mar. 14, 1950 12,547,483` M ersereau 1.---'. Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT oETICE CERTIFICATION 0F CORRECTIQN y Patent No; 2,974,611 March 14 1961 Russell Lu 'Iangeman rror appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certifedthet e the said Letters Patent should reed es ent requiring correction and that corrected below.

Column 3,y line 521 for "bearings-. read m bearing ma; column 4, line 5% for vnhearing read e bearing n.

Signed and lsealed this day of August 1961 SEA L) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents 

